Christopher B. Johnstone is a Managing Principal at The Asia Group, where he brings unparalleled expertise across Indo-Pacific markets including Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia. Previously, Chris served as a Senior Advisor at TAG and concurrently as Senior Advisor and Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). At CSIS, Chris led and expanded the Center’s role in shaping the U.S.-Japan alliance agenda, including on economic security, defense industrial cooperation, and multilateral frameworks.
Chris served in government for 25 years in a variety of senior positions with a focus on U.S. policy toward Japan and the Indo-Pacific region. He served twice on the National Security Council, as Director for East Asia under President Biden (2021-2022) and Director for Japan and Oceanian Affairs under President Obama (2014–2016). In the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Chris led offices with responsibility for South and Southeast Asia (2017–2021) and East Asia (2016–2017). While at the Pentagon, he also served as Director for Northeast Asia (2010-2014), where he had principal responsibility for developing strategy for the U.S.-Japan and U.S.-South Korea alliances.
Chris began his career as an intelligence officer in the Central Intelligence Agency, where he served as the senior political analyst at an East Asian field station, then as team chief in the Office of Asia Pacific Analysis. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C., and the recipient of the Ryozo Kato Award for Service to the U.S.-Japan Alliance.
Chris holds a Master of Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from Swarthmore College. He attended Stanford University’s Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies. He speaks and reads Japanese.